Practice Profile
Tom is the current 36 Public and Human Rights pupil.
Before commencing pupillage Tom worked at the Home Office for 13 years as an advocate appearing in both the First Tier and Upper Tribunal. He has experienced the full range of immigration and asylum matters including international protection, human rights, EU law, deprivation, exclusion and human trafficking. He instructed the government legal department in a number of cases in the higher courts and delivered training to caseworking teams.
He gained particular experience in war crimes cases invoking the exclusion clauses of the refugee convention and suitability provisions of the immigration rules, leading on a number of significant cases and delivering training to other units. He also appeared in a number of cases on wasted costs in both the FTT and gaining experience in this developing area.
Tom has a long standing interest in human rights and public law. He takes instructions in Employment, Education and Housing matters and is keen to develop his practice in these areas where such rights are in play. He has advised and represented in Employment cases on unfair dismissal, whistleblowing and discrimination and has conducted trial and preliminary hearings at the Employment tribunal. He has also spoken to local authorities on education law developments at the Upper Tribunal.
In January 2019 Tom was appointed a fee paid Judge of the First Tier Tribunal (Immigration and Asylum Chamber).
Appointments & Memberships
Fee Paid Judge of the First Tier Tribunal (Immigration and Asylum Chamber)
Cases
- Bhavsar (late application for PTA: procedure) [2019] UKUT 196 (IAC)
- MS (Art 1C(5)- Mogadishu) [2018] UKUT 196 (IAC)
- Yussuf (meaning of "liable to deportation") Somalia [2018] UKUT 117 (IAC)
- Williams (scope of "liable to deportation") Nigeria [2018] UKUT 116 (IAC)
- Charles (human rights appeal: scope) [2018] UKUT 89 (IAC)
- Thapa & Ors (costs: general principles: s9 review) [2018] UKUT 54 (IAC)
- KB & AH (credibility – structured approach) Pakistan [2017] UKUT 491 (IAC)
- Saimon (Cart Review: "pending" : Bangladesh) [2017] UKUT 371 (IAC)
- VB and Another (draft evaders and prison conditions) Ukraine CG [2017] UKUT 79 (IAC)
- SF and others (Guidance, post-2014 Act) Albania [2017] UKUT 120 (IAC)
- VA (Solicitor's non-compliance: counsel's duties) Sri Lanka [2017] UKUT 12 (IAC)
- Ruhumuliza (Article 1F and "undesirable") [2016] UKUT 284 (IAC)
- MS (Trafficking - Tribunal's Powers - Art. 4 ECHR) Pakistan [2016] UKUT 226 (IAC)
- Miah (section 117B NIAA 2002 - children) [2016] UKUT 131 (IAC)
- AM (fair hearing) [2015] UKUT 656 (IAC)
- KMO (section 117 - unduly harsh) [2015] UKUT 543 (IAC)
- Cancino (costs – First-tier Tribunal – new powers) [2015] UKFTT 59 (IAC)
- McLarty (Deportation - proportionality balance) [2014] UKUT 315 (IAC)
- Omenma (Conditional Discharge - not a conviction of an offence) [2014] UKUT 314 (IAC)
- Vasconcelos (Risk - rehabilitation) Portugal [2013] UKUT 378 (IAC)
- MS (Coptic Christians: Egypt) CG [2013] UKUT 611 (IAC)
Education
Human Rights LLM Birkbeck College, University of London
Bar Vocational Course College of Law
Law LLB University of Leicester